Extension of Victorian state of emergency ‘anti-democratic, autocratic and unnecessary’
The Victorian Premier’s demand that the state of emergency currently in effect gets extended for an additional 12 months is ridiculous. It’s anti-democratic, autocratic and unnecessary.
A shorter extension is the most that should be legislated.
Rarely have I agreed with some of the rabid critics of Dan Andrews, but on this issue they have a valid point. The current state of emergency was declared in mid-March, and is due to expire mid-next month. It was granted for a six-month period, yet Andrews now wants state parliament to reconvene and declare another state of emergency, this time for twice as long.
There is no justification for it.
I can certainly see the value in extending the current state of emergency, perhaps even for an additional six months. But doubling it to 12 months makes no sense, unless the purpose is to hand the Premier absolute power during this pandemic, and perhaps even beyond it.
And while I realise the power the Premier is seeking is the ability to enforce a state of emergency at any time over the coming 12 months, rather than the state of emergency necessarily being put in place that whole time, it’s procedurally the same thing — he’s seeking the power to make that decision without oversight, without parliamentary input. The issue is the removal of checks on executive power.
I am furious.
— Jeff Kennett (@jeff_kennett) August 24, 2020
Premier Andrews has said today he is going to seek an extension of his State of Emergency in Victoria for another year! He has stopped any future investment in Victoria. He has condemned all his mates in the construction industry to unemployment.
Ex-Premier Jeff Kennett likes his rants, but on this issue his rant was well-targeted. Andrews has gone too far. Why can’t parliament — elected by the people, remember — come back in mid-March next year to grant a third extension if necessary? Why does it have to provide a further 12 months now?
We have heard no evidence whatsoever explaining why that can’t happen, as numerous legal scholars would prefer to see happen. The Premier needs to eat humble pie and backtrack on this issue. If he won’t, the state’s Legislative Council needs to vote down his power play.
Former federal Labor leader Bill Shorten used morning television to try to calm people’s nerves about Andrews’ power grab. He implored Andrews to take the opportunity to better explain himself. Frankly, that’s part of the problem. Andrews didn’t feel the need to explain himself when making the announcement, which is a symptom of not respecting the checks and balances that exist in our political system.
Let’s not forget, no projections suggest the rise in infections Victoria has recently faced will last 12 months into the future. A state of emergency grants government extraordinary, unchecked powers. It is something to only be used sparingly. And even if there was a need for an additional extension, parliament can always grant it. What it cannot do is shorten an already granted state of emergency without the Premier and his government agreeing.
Herein lies the problem. Parliamentary democracy matters, yet the Victorian parliament has been put in hibernation by Andrews, thrusting executive government front and centre. The Premier hasn’t even given the public (or the opposition) details about when parliament might return, much less provide guarantees that it will continue to sit when it does briefly return to hand Andrews more unchecked power.
Andrews essentially wants to recall parliament, which he has indefinitely shut down, simply to extend his state of emergency for an unreasonably long time, before he’ll shut it down again, indefinitely.
Andrews’ power grab - trying to extend his State of Emergency powers over you to 18 months - is outrageous.
— Michael O'Brien (@michaelobrienmp) August 24, 2020
Labor’s hotel quarantine scandal caused this 2nd wave but Victorians are paying the price.
The Vic Liberal Nationals will fight this attack on the rights of Victorians. pic.twitter.com/w1gCZzpnIy
No wonder Victorians with the vaguest sense of civil liberties are starting to wonder what’s going on. While I have faith in the robust nature of Australian democracy, this is how tyranny starts. Questioning what Andrews wants to do here is our democratic duty, just as I have done when the federal government has made power play after power play.
You can be in favour of strict lockdowns. You can give the Victorian Premier the benefit of the doubt with his handling of this pandemic. You can condemn his critics for their poor timing and inconsistent over the top attacks. You can even #standwithdan without backing an unchecked 12-month extension of the state of emergency.
It is nothing short of draconian and anti-democratic.
Even then, I could perhaps STILL embrace it, were it necessary. But it is not. A three- or six-month extension come the September 13 deadline of the current state of emergency would give Victorian health authorities more time to get the current crisis under control before re-evaluating if curtailing rights yet again is necessary or not — either halfway through December (if a three-month extension is granted) or in mid-March next year (if a second six-month extension is granted).
All it would require is bringing back the democratically-elected parliament to do so. What is so wrong about that? Why would a democratically-elected Premier have a problem with that?
The only answer is that Andrews either hasn’t thought deeply enough about this power grab, or he’s lost respect for the very institutions that elevated him to his current position.
It is not even as though the Premier’s performance has been beyond question. The structure of the public health units are too centralised in Victoria. Hotel quarantining has seen marked failures. Contact tracing has been sub par compared to in states like NSW.
I am happy to reserve final judgment on all of the above until the crisis is behind us and cool-headed assessments can be made. But a 12-month extension to the state of emergency powers in a state already known for excessive policing powers — when parliament hasn’t even been sitting — is totally beyond the pale.
Peter van Onselen is a professor of politics and public policy at the University of Western Australia and Griffith University.
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